Which piano keyboard is best for beginners?

How much do I need to spend on a beginner keyboard?

The DecPlay piano course can be used with all types of keyboards including pianos, digital pianos, electronic keyboards and organs, costing from £200 / $200 upwards (such as Yamaha NP12).

Real pianos are wonderful instruments however most students prefer either digital pianos / electronic keyboards as they have many advantages over real pianos, including lower cost, no need to tune, more control over volume, more portable and take up less room. (for more info see our blog article here)

Digital pianos (eg Yamaha NP32, P45, YDP145 ... ) are generally focussed on looking and sounding more like a real piano. More expensive models have 'weighted keys' that mimic the feel of real piano keys. 'Semi-weighted' keys usually cost less, are more portable and are lighter to touch.

Electronic keyboards (eg Yamaha YPT370, PSR373, Genos range ...) are similar to digital pianos but are less focussed on looking and sounding like a piano and are more focussed on offering a wide range of instrument sounds and extra 'backing' such as auto accompaniment and 1 finger chords.

Recommended keyboard features:

1. At least 61 keys

2. Touch sensitive keyboard (ie plays louder when keys are pressed harder)  

Best Keyboards for Beginners

Digital pianos

Yamaha Piaggero NP12 is my favourite low price keyboard (around £ 200), with the Yamaha NP-32 having more keys (76 instead of 61). The Roland Go:Piano (GO-61P) has many of the benefits of the NP-12 and is a bit smaller. If you have a bigger budget and will not move the keyboard often then a weighted keyboard like Roland FP30 or Yamaha P45 are great value for money. 

Electronic keyboards

Any of the Yamaha range from YPT370 and PSR373 upwards, are good for beginners. The more you spend, the more features you get, all the way to the top of the range Genos.

ePianos.co.uk

For students in the UK, I recommend contacting Chris or David at www.epianos.co.uk/decplay for advice and to view a range of new and used keyboards, with UK delivery.

They also have lots of videos comparing different keyboards and giving tips.